Drumhellar #8: Review

If you want a title that reads like Twin Peaks mixed with your standard psychedelic dream, then Drumhellar might be exactly what you’re looking for. And guess what — it’s really, really good.

Here’s the word from Image:

Harold’s strange accident is finally revealed! Red teases Drum with clues to his past, and it leaves Drum with uneasy questions. Just what does Red know? Will Drum ever find the killers leaving a trail of orphans across the state? And most disturbingly: does he even want to?

From the start Drumhellar has been a title very comfortable with being “out here,” meaning that the plot, art, and premise are possessed with a hyper-magical quality and a mood barely tethered to reality. Ostensibly, the premise is this: Drum Hellar is a “kinda” psychic private detective that no one seems to hire, but who seems committed to solving occult mysteries anyway. And, oh yeah, his partner is a pink apparition named Harold. In issue #8 co-writers Riley Rossmo and Alex Link offer readers a bit of Harold’s backstory and the first seven pages dedicated to Harold’s quasi-origin story are worth the cover price alone. But then, in a testament to Rossmo and Link’s creative prowess, the story takes off like a rocket, revealing a new and potent mystery that will (we suspect) challenge the longstanding bond between Harold and Drum.

Proving that good story needs good art to make a kick-butt comic, Riley Rossmo offers another stellar showing with issue #8. His art is nearly perfect — concrete yet magical; soaring but richly detailed. Rossmo’s panels deserved to be framed and hung in art galleries — yes, I love this guy.

I’ve read every issue of Drumhellar so far, and still can’t neatly categorize it. But that doesn’t matter. Because I’m loving it. And for now that’s good enough.